Chita Rivera reprises a lifetime of musical performances
Family Portrait: Chris Ramos
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And the nominees are ...
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Sept. 23-29, 2011
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Vol. 35 No. 38
House holds discrimination bill hearing
Redistricting to impact LGBTs By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com The Hawthorne section of South Philadelphia, a neighborhood densely populated with LGBT residents, will get a new City Council district under redistricting plans tentatively approved by council last week. Critics say the move will dilute the emerging LGBT voting bloc in the 1st District, which now covers Center City east of Broad, along with areas near the Delaware River. Hawthorne lies between Broad and 11th streets, from South Street to Washington Avenue. That area — just south of the Gayborhood — is in the 1st District, but would be added to the 2nd District under two similar bills pending in City Council. The 2nd District now covers Center City west of Broad and much of South Philadelphia. City Council could pass one or both measures as early as Sept. 22. The bill(s) would then go to Mayor Nutter for his consideration. If he vetoes both measures, City Council would need at least 12 votes to override the veto and enact a plan. Mark McDonald, a spokesperson for Nutter, had no comment PAGE 19
Mazzoni Center gets $80K from fed By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com LGBT health facility Mazzoni Center recently took the first step on the road to attaining a new federal designation that will enable it to expand its practice and services. Mazzoni was awarded an $80,000 Health Care Planning Grant from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration to support the planning process to pursue its bid to become a Federally Qualified Health Center. The FQHC status — which no LGBTfocused health facility in the region has — enables a health cenPAGE 19
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
FAREWELL PARTY: Former Congressman Patrick Murphy (center) meets and greets LGBT and ally Philadelphians Tuesday night at a celebration at Tabu to herald the end of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” About 200 turned out to toast the lifting of the 18-year-old ban on openly gay servicemembers and raise a glass to Murphy, who spearheaded the legislative effort to repeal the law. Congress approved Murphy’s measure in December, and Obama and military leaders signed off on the repeal this summer, with its final demise coming at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 20. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Coach arrested on sex-abuse charges By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com An Archdiocesan high-school baseball coach was arrested this week on charges stemming from two encounters with teenage boys. Police arrested Louis Spadaccini, 37, Sept. 20 and charged him with rape, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of a child, simLOUIS ple assault, indecent SPADACCINI assault and furnishing alcohol to a minor, for two separate incidents. After being released on bail, Spadaccini, the varsity and JV baseball coach at Neumann-Goretti High School in South Philadelphia, was again taken into custody
that night with charges from the second incident. The initial charges were filed after Spadaccini allegedly took a 14-year-old boy to a Holiday Inn in South Philadelphia Sunday and gave him beer and a mixed drink spiked with a Xanax. The boy was visibly intoxicated when Spadaccini dropped him off at home, and his parents took him to the hospital and contacted police. There was no evidence of sexual contact in that case. However, after those charges, a 13-yearold boy came forward and reported that, three separate times in July and August, Spadacinni sexually assaulted him at the same hotel and at Spadacinni’s home. Spadaccini, who works part-time at the high school and full-time at the Court of Common Pleas, has been put on administrative leave at both. Himself a Neumann grad, Spadaccini has coached the team for five years and led the effort to win two Catholic League championship, the school’s first in five decades. ■
The measure to ban discrimination against LGBT Pennsylvanians at the statewide level came before a panel of state legislators this week. The House Democratic Policy Committee heard testimony Sept. 19 from several supporters of House Bill 300. The long-stalled measure would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s Human Relations Act, extending discrimination protections in housing, employment and public accommodations to the LGBT community. The committee hosts public hearings across the state to examine the local impact of certain pieces of legislation and to build awareness and understanding of legislation, spearheaded by members of the House Democratic Caucus. More than a quarter of the committee’s nearly 80 members attended. HB 300 was resubmitted earlier this year by state Rep. Dan Frankel (D-23rd Dist.), PAGE 22 and it is currently in the
SOLEMN ANNIVERSARIES: Several hundred people turned out Sept. 15 for the opening reception of “1981-Until It’s Over,” an interactive display at the William Way LGBT Community Center tracing the history of HIV/AIDS. The exhibit, created by AIDS Fund, examines the epidemic’s 30-year scourge on Philadelphia and the nation. The display will be featured in the center’s lobby until Dec. 15. Photo: Scott A. Drake